Sparkly sand and a little bit of history

Saturday brought yet more glorious weather to Shetland (I have been told on many occasions that it isn’t usually as nice as this, but never mind). So, there was no better day than to do a bit more exploring of Yell, the island I visited the other week whilst at work. It just so happened that Dave, the family friend who helped me to organise this placement in Shetland, was up working on the island at the same time I was here so we arranged to meet up on Yell so he could show me the sights.

The bus journey up to Toft ferry terminal from Lerwick offers a brilliant scenic tour of the mainland and while it did take over an hour, it was worth it for the views. As I said before the ferry to Yell only takes about 15 minutes and as a foot passenger its very relaxed, and very cheap. I met Dave as I got off the ferry and we set off on a drive around the island. It was brilliant fun as we had to go around in the on-call doctor’s car, as for the whole time he’s on the island Dave is on call to assist with anything happens. It was amazing how everyone knew who he was and on single track roads people always pulled out the way for him to go past first, I felt like royalty! After going to a local diner for lunch we set out on our adventures, after Dave took a minute to think of what the highlights of Yell actually are.

Our first stop was Breckon sands, a really beautiful beach right at the top of Yell. Honestly it was like being in the Mediterranean, the water was so blue and clear and the sand was so white. The sand was also sparkly which was just amazing, it was like walking on glitter. I was so surprised how quiet the beach was for a beautiful Saturday afternoon, but I’m not complaining as it was so tranquil. From the beach we walked up onto the cliffs where the stone was also sparkly. There were quite a few different seabirds around on the cliffs which were lovely to just watch for a bit. We headed back down to the beach and returned to the car to continue our adventures.

 

The Gloup Fishing Disaster Memorial

Next, we went just up the road to a memorial for the 1881 Gloup Fishing Disaster, where 58 fishermen from Shetland lost their lives after a storm. The memorial was created in 1981, 100 years after the original disaster. The woman behind the statue was reportedly the wife of one of the men who died in the storm and she would go up onto the cliffs everyday to wait for her husband to return, she had a young baby which she’s shown holding. There are a couple of replica boats tied up at the ferry terminal in the north of Yell which I believe were also made to commemorate the disaster.

 

The White Wife

Following on the sea accident theme we then drove back down Yell to see the White Wife. This is a monument put in place to mark a place very near to where a boat ran aground. The figurehead from the front of the ship was saved before the ship disintegrated and has been restored to commemorate the 4 people who died during the incident, including a crew member who died after saving many of his shipmates.

After feeling rather educated about some of the history in Yell, and a bit scared to get on a boat…, it was time for me to get the ferry back home. It was a really lovely day out and I’m glad I got to see a bit more of Yell. Knowing I was safely on the last bus back to Lerwick (the buses up here are not particularly frequent and it would have been a 9 hour walk home had I missed it), I was able to relax and take in the views again. Apparently, I was very close to seeing a pod of orcas, but I must just have missed them. I’ve still got a few more days left up here, so finger crossed they make an appearance for me before I go!